India to be a big player in global trade: Kamal Nath

He stressed that the private sector must help bridge the divide between the booming urban and poor rural sector.

India is poised to capture a large chunk of global business owing to the high economic growth, liberal FDI regime and a skilled human reservoir, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said on Friday.

"With the economy growing ateight per cent, our liberal FDI policy and demographic strengths, the country is poised to capture a major part of the global business," he said at a Hero Mindmine seminar.

The Minister said that the Indian corporate sector was also making great strides by expanding operations and acquiring international companies. However, he said thatthe private sector must help bridge the divide between the booming urban areas and poor rural sector.

The economic reforms to be pursued by government should be all inclusive, he said.

India is under tremendous pressure from US and EU to open up its retail sector to foreign direct investment, but the Left parties which prop up the UPA government are opposed to it.

On FDI in retail, he said government was in the process of finalising a model that does not displace the existing employment in the sector.

Speaking on the occasion, Bharti Enterprises chief Sunil Bharti Mittal said that new technology and access to global capital were the key factors that have propelled India's growth in recent years.